'I never enjoyed running the 400m' – South African speedster reveals eight years after setting World and Olympic Record

Wayde van Niekerk broke into athletics limelight in 2016 when he ran a jaw-dropping new 400m World Record in 43.03s.
Ironically, eight years after his historic feat, he says he never enjoyed running the event and want to find love in the sport again.

Eight years after a historic feat of running a jaw-dropping World and Olympic Record in the men’s 400m event, South African track icon Wayde van Niekerk has revealed he never enjoyed running the event.

Van Niekerk is currently at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he chose to compete in the 200m alone and not his trademark event – the 400m.

The talented sprinter managed to qualify for the semifinals after finishing third in his heat in 20.42s and will have to produce a much better performance of a sub-20s clocking for any hopes of a spot in the final.

Speaking with reporters after his race, the South African revealed that his decision to run the 200m in Paris was to enjoy the sport again.

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“I think for me, the decision was based on getting back to a space of enjoying the sport and finding peace in the sport that has helped me so much. I think that was honestly the biggest decision and motive of why I’m here today,” he said.

Van Niekerk broke into the athletics limelight in 2014 when as an unknown sprinter, he won the Commonwealth Games and African Championships silver medal in the 400m.

A year later, at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, he stunned the track world by winning the world title in a then Personal Best (PB) and National Record (NR) of 43.48s.

With expectations now high on him as the future of the event and one to beat at the Rio 2016 Games, Van Niekerk did the unbelievable when he blazed to the Olympic title in a new blistering World Record of 43.03s, beating the time of 43.18s set by Michael Johnson in 1999.

That same year, he became the first sprinter in history to run the 100m under 10s, the 200m under 20s, and the 400m under 44, thus cementing his name as one of the greatest sprinters in history. He will later successfully defend his world title at the 2017 London Championships and also added the 200m silver medal to his collections.

Unfortunately, an injury sustained during a celebrity-funded rugby match, which resulted in him tearing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), has seen him struggle to regain his best form despite moving to the United States to train with the Pure Athletics training group in Florida, coached by Lance Brauman (Noah Lyles’s coach).

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With Van Niekerk now in Paris, hoping to bounce back to his good, old years, the 32-year-old surprisingly revealed he never enjoyed the 400m.

“I never enjoyed it. It’s never been one of my favorites, but it’s been the biggest blessing in my life, so I obviously can’t be against it. It’s a tough event,” he said in a chat with @ChrisChavez.

On his 400m world record race: “Forcefully, I’ve watched it many times before. I’m not really someone that lingers on the past too much. I think the competition and athletes around you grow so fast that you can’t really linger on what was and focus on where you are at this moment.

“I think for me, I really just want to stay tuned into the present and try and get better today and see what tomorrow holds.”